island life | Happy Place Creatives

In 2016 we were invited to go to Punta Cana with a group of 10 other adults. Thanks to a bonus Micah got that year, we were able to make this happen and it was one of the best trips ever! We had such a great time together as a couple, and as a group. We were celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday, so he did all of the planning for this trip. This was weird for me, because I’m so used to being that planner! But it was kind of nice, to just sit back and wait until the day we left, besides clicking a link a few times to pay our portion. 🙂

We stayed at the magnificent Majestic Elegance Resort.

Just look how beautiful this place is! We got 5 star treatment the entire time.

Plenty of pools and cabanas for cooling off.

We highly recommend Majestic Resorts!! In Punta Cana, they also have Majestic Colonial & Majestic Mirage which is their newest and has five exclusive adult-only buildings (Mirage Club 18+) and two buildings for families with children at Family Club (all ages). A new resort will be opening in the Fall of 2019 in Playa Mujeres, Mexico as well!

Majestic Elegance Resort– Punta Cana is a 5 star all-inclusive resort that offers 6 restaurants to choose from and we tried them all! Our group was pretty laid back, for the most part, and every one was on their own time all day. So we would usually run into others from our group at breakfast, but not always. We would all end up together by afternoon, either by the pool or on the beach, where we would spend the day relaxing or joining in on the many activities they have each day. Then we’d get cleaned up and changed for dinner and meet up at a certain time for that every night.

Usually, after dinner we would hang out as a group. The resort has 10 bars so we never had any trouble finding a cool place to hang. Sometimes we would choose to relax in the lobby or piano bar. Outside at the Bar Plaza there was live music and dancing. There is also a casino and disco bar as well. After a few hours of dancing or chatting, everyone turned in for the night. But Micah and I are such night owls, we would walk the beach together, every night and goof off for another couple of hours.

We acted like teenagers at times, such a blast!

9 doors was our favorite restaurant! It’s a Japanese Steakhouse
where they cook in front of you.

9 doors restaurant at Majestic Elegance, Punta Cana

Fried Rice Heart - 9 Doors Restaurant - Punta Cana — Fried Rice Heart – 9 Doors Restaurant

We also loved “Il Bottaccio”, it’s an Italian place with amazing buffets. “Sea & See” definitely has the best view!

Click here to see all of the restaurants and bars that this resort has to offer.

Every day we enjoyed the many activities happening daily, by the pool and on the beach! All the guys (and sometimes the girls) would spend hours playing volleyball in the pool. I enjoyed the poolside dance lessons and it’s a good thing, because I was getting recruited by the girl who gives the lessons. Every day she would grab me and pull me over when it was time to start. She was so sweet and funny. 🙂

daily pool volleyball games were so fun!

There was ping pong table by one of the pool bars. They held daily tournaments. We got in on one and Micah took 2nd place for the guys…yours truly took 1st place in the girls tournament!!)

They also have daily exercises and dance lessons that you can join in on.

There was also a variety of exercise sessions and many different contests both poolside and on the beach. Believe me when I say there’s never a dull moment at a resort like this!

Plenty of floaties that are free to use! — The pools have plenty of floaties that are free to use!

Plenty of time and space to get much needed R & R

The rooms were so spacious and elegant! They all have very comfortable, California King, four poster canopy beds with lots of pillows, plus a ‘pillow menu’ with several different types of pillows to choose from. I tried several out before I decided on the perfect one or two to keep around. I never had a bad night’s sleep the entire trip, and I’m usually pretty picky about my pillow.

The beds were SO comfortable and they offer a
pillow menu with many choices to ensure you get a comfortable night’s sleep.

Each room also had robes, slippers and a jacuzzi tub. As well as a seperate walk-in shower with multiple jets and shower nozzles, above you and on the walls. The two sink vanity was separate from the shower and toilet, which was nice.

Daily fresh flowers left in our room. Majestic Elegance, Punta Cana — Daily fresh flowers left in our room made me smile.

Our beautiful room at Majestic Elegance, Punta Cana — Our beautiful room!

We had a bottle of champagne and fresh fruit waiting in the room when we arrived. Plus there is a mini fridge stocked with water and 4 different bottles of alcohol, which they will replace if you drink them all. We only opened one, so we brought all the others home with us. We were hardly in the room, so we usually were out having our drinks made for us at one of the 10 bars they have on site.

Did I mention the amazing cocktails that are included, all day, everyday!?!

For anyone interested in playing golf, the resort is located just 200 meters from Punta Blanca Golf Course. Included in the price of your stay is
1 free green fee for each guest staying in the main section of Majestic Elegance and 2 free green fees for Elegance Club guests
(*for a minimum stay of 5 nights)
Return transfer to the hotel lobby, Snacks and refreshments and Balls are all included.

*Mandatory Golf Cart fee of $45 usd per person.

This resort is a popular wedding destination too. We got to see a wedding during our stay, which was simply stunning.

In the middle of our trip we did a very fun excursion. We took a catamaran to Saona Island. On the way we stopped off at a natural sand bar. The beautiful clear blue water was only about knee deep and there were starfish everywhere! My only regret on this day was not having a water proof camera. No one got any good pics with the starfish, but was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. After that we went on to Saona Island where we enjoyed a BBQ lunch and cocktails that were included in the price. We had a couple more hours to relax on the beach before we boarded a speed boat to get back to the tour bus. I got my first massage on the beach that day too. It was not included in the price but I only paid $15 USD and it was more than worth it! Ok, so maybe the massage was the highlight…no wait, it was the speedboat! Nevermind… I can’t decide. The entire day was amazing!!

Guided activities and excursions can be booked on site at the resort.
(additional cost – provided by external agencies) Or check online for deals and discounts and book ahead of time.

Catamaran that took us to Starfish Island

This resort made this trip SO amazing!! It’s very hard to come back home after being treated so well for 5 days. To wake up, go eat breakfast by the beach, that someone else cooked for you while sipping Mimosas. Then relax in the sand, play in the surf, while sipping cocktails from coconuts. Fun and games by the pool and on the beach all day. Then fancy dinners at night! What more could you ask for?

Although this was an adults only trip for us, the resort itself is not adults only. They have plenty of family activities, live shows, Kid’s club and a game are for teens with pool tables, foosball, ping-pong and darts. We’d love to go back sometime and take the whole family.

Have you ever been on an all-inclusive trip? If so, where to? What places do you recommend?

It’s NO SECRET that we hate cold weather! The older Micah and I get, the more we hate it. Since Micah moved here from L.A. in 1995, he’s always wanted to get back out there! Not to L.A. exactly, but somewhere in SoCal. We love the Oceanside/Carlsbad area. Micah lived in cities near there before and now my best friend from high school happens to live there so moving there would be awesome!! But also would consider any nearby towns, even if they are a bit further from the beach than those two.

The kids are all so artistic and they are all interested in performing arts as well, so moving to California would be great for them if they decide to pursue anything in the field. (They are all interested in acting. Max and Macy would make great comedians. Macy wants to write and direct as well. Max would also make a great stunt double.)

We have actually been looking into real estate out there a lot over the past couple of years. Yes….. it is EXPENSIVE! Although, I have found some pretty decent deals. The problem for us is finding something with 4 bedrooms, that’s just not the norm out there, so when you find them, they aren’t cheap!. BUT, I am confident if we decide to move there we will find some great deal on the perfect place for us.

We have also considered moving to the Sacramento area, near Folsom, CA. Micah has a lot of family there and his siblings and parents are possibly considering moving back there as well. It would be pretty nice to live near more Cains, since we’ve always lived near my family, and rarely see his.

Another state I’ve considered is Texas. Freeport and Port Arthur, TX both made the list of the 15 cheapest U.S. beach towns to live in. I’ve never visited, but between my research in beach towns and friends that are familiar with Texas who say there are a lot of ‘artsy’ towns there…I’m definitely intrigued with Texas. I have one friend, from Indiana who has lived in Texas before and recently moved back there, and other friends who are moving to Houston in a couple of weeks!

I would love to do something REALLY adventurous and move to the Caribbean! There are so many reasons why! Real Estate is cheap. The lifestyle is so laid back. Weather is nice year round. I could go on and on!

I have been researching this for a few months now, after getting hooked on “Caribbean Life” and other shows like it. Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve found.

As of Nov 2018. The cheapest places to live in the Caribbean are:

Aruba is not on the list of the cheapest, but it is the one that’s least likely to be hit by hurricanes. Check out the rest of the list here.

Of the list of the cheapest, Dominican Republic also makes the list of islands who have the best healthcare. Puerto Rico is also on the list. Check out this article on NBC News to find out more about healthcare in the Caribbean.

When we talk about moving to the Caribbean, many of our friends have asked if we realize how dangerous it is. Especially when I mention Honduras and the DR, because they are both known to have high murder rates. However, just like in the U.S. or any place else, there are safe areas and not so safe areas to live. Think about where you live, you most likely have areas that you are aware of, near you, that are known to be less safe than others. Just like you probably wouldn’t choose to live in one of those less safe areas near you, you also wouldn’t move to an island and then choose to live in the slums. You would find a nice Ex-Pat community, where you will be safe, but still live like a local.

Check out this article on the
safest and most dangerous places in the Caribbean.

Here’s another specifically about Roatan, Honduras.

And another article on the top 30 most dangerous places in the U.S. as well. I found it very interesting that besides three cities in California,
nd one in Texas, all others are in the Midwest, South and Eastern states! Indiana has two cities on the list and one is Indianapolis,
which is basically ‘around the corner’ from us.

As of right now, my top three Caribbean locations to move to would be Roatan , Honduras , Utila , Honduras, and Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. Since we’ve been to the DR already, we’d love to visit the two islands in Honduras, soon, so we can see how it measures up. I can’t wait until the day we get to actually look into real estate there! My dream is to buy something that has rental potential, like a little mini resort or a house with little casitas that we can rent out. Like this one!

For those of you who may be wondering about the kids…they are on board with the idea of moving. My sincere hope is that we can move by next year. 2020. I have to put this in the Universe as often as I can, so here it is for the Universe to see! I WANT TO MOVE BY 2020! Of course I wanted to move in 2019 as well, so I’m ok with pushing it back, if necessary, but you gotta start with goals! Right?

I know I talk a lot about the Caribbean, and even my deadline, but overall, I just know I’d like to move SOMEWHERE warm, sometime SOON… At this point, I’m just putting it out there and doing what I can to make it happen.

Always open to suggestions on places to move as well as moving tips!

Would you ever consider moving to another town?
If so, where would you go?
What are your thoughts about moving to the Caribbean
or to any other country?

Happy Place Creatives

Tag: island life

Our adults only trip to Punta Cana.

Moving Goals